Having a registration desk that runs smoothly can help you make sure that your delegates aren’t kept waiting for excessive periods before they can get that first coffee of the day...but it can also offer much more benefit. Careful preparation ahead of time is the key to making sure that your registration desk works for you, on the day and after the conference. Try these tips to preparing the right desk, with the right materials and make a great impression at your event.

Registration List

Your registration list is your communication lifeline to all of your delegates, whether they turn up or not. And a well-managed list allows you to take care of the last minute attendees on the day. The most efficient way of ensuring that everyone is checked off is to have an online registration system that also allows you to record whether they attended on the day. However, if it isn’t possible for you to provide this, having a carefully prepared manual registration sheet, along with a system that all your registration desk attendants are up-to-speed with is the next best thing.

And, remember to have enough staff to manage the volume of delegates you expect to register at any one time. If you have large numbers, consider providing a maître d’ who can direct people to the right location.

Name Badges

It’s customary for people to wear name badges at conferences as this is an easy aide to networking. Make it easy for your delegates to get their badge quickly by grouping them alphabetically and displaying clear signs that tell them which table their name badge will be located by alphabet group. Be kind to their business clothes by providing Avery Fabric Name Badges (which you can customise using Avery Design & Print Online). These also make preparation and transportation much easier.

And, for the last minute attendees, make sure you have a professional way of creating their badges and collecting their details on the spot.

Small Touches That Make the Difference

If you are running a large conference it’s a nicer touch to make the coffee, tea or other refreshments available at the registration area. This way, if a large number of your delegates turn up at the same time, they have access to refreshments while they are waiting to sign in rather than having to wait until everyone has gone through registration.

Keep Your Records Up to Date

It’s important to know who actually signed into the conference and who wasn’t able to make it on the day. All of the contact details that you have collected in the lead up to the conference are obviously important, but isn’t enough to just keep a database of contact details and send out bulk communications to everyone, or even worse, send them nothing at all!

Knowing who was there and who wasn’t allows you to really connect with your database and personalise any follow-up communications you send. This is a way to set your organisation apart when it comes to managing and building relationships for future business.

Adding Value With Your Registration List

If you keep concise records on the day of your conference of who was there and those who couldn’t attend, as well as those who you had on your database as invitees, you can create customised information to send to each of those groups.

Speakers often make material such as slides available for people who were at the conference. When you send your attendance thankyous to your delegates you can send them a personalised greeting that talks about the things they learned on the day and makes the extra material available.

By keeping records of those who had registered but who didn’t attend on the day you can send a separate personalised message that includes the conference material that was handed out on the day (including the goody bag if you only have a handful) as well as the extra material provided by the speakers.

And, those who were invited but didn’t register form a third communication option that allows you to give them a taste of what was covered on the day. This gives you the opportunity to entice delegates for the following year if you run your conference annually, or it helps establish a relationship with them for future events or products you have on offer. Send a professional, custom-designed note using printable delegate cards or postcards.